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Cyclists’ safety goes off track
Chandigarh, October 5 Around 40 cyclists have lost their lives in road accidents in two years and 12 in the first three months this year. The tracks, mostly in Sectors 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28 and 29, are in a bad shape. A large pit on the cycle track in Sector 33 poses a threat to cyclists and pedestrians (see picture). Peddling on these tracks is nothing less than a test of ability as cyclists have to manoeuvre their bikes to avoid large potholes. The ride becomes difficult when it gets dark as the tracks are without streetlights. Ram Achal, a daily-wage earner who peddles regularly between Sector 31 and Sector 26, said he prefers the main road to cycle tracks. “It is safer to ride a cycle on the road rather on potholed tracks. The tracks should be maintained,” he said. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has also added to the problems of cyclists as garbage bins have been placed in the middle of most of the tracks. Atul, a biking enthusiast, said four-wheelers could be seen on cycle tracks during peak hours, especially alongside Udyog Path. “The authorities should penalise drivers of four-wheelers who use cycle tracks,” he said. A recent study by the Chandigarh Police on road accidents reported in the first three months this year has raised concerns towards the safety of cyclists on city roads. The Chandigarh Police has also proposed the construction of cycle tracks alongside roads witnessing maximum accidents. Over 100 engineering proposals to improve the traffic situation forwarded by the traffic police to the UT Administration and the municipal corporation are lying pending for the past several years. These also include construction of more cycle tracks. In a recent order, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has also directed the UT Administration to make cycle tracks operational. The court made it clear that the Administration should ensure easy identification and utilisation of cycle tracks.
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Convict who jumped parole held
Chandigarh, October 5 A special investigation team (SIT) under the supervision of DSP (crime) Satbir Singh was constituted following the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders. The team raided possible hideouts of the convict in Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. Inspector Ranjodh Singh of the crime branch said a checkpoint was set up on the road leading to Mohali following a tip-off. “The police signalled a white Swift car to stop at the checkpoint at 2.15 pm coming from the ISBT-43 side. Harpreet was behind the wheel and Onkar was sitting next to him. On verification, it was found that the vehicle was snatched from the Jalvera road in Ambala in June. During interrogation, Harpreet disclosed that after jumping parole, he came in contact with Onkar Singh they were involved in many cases snatchings, two robberies at a petrol pump in Sangoli village near Dera Bassi and at a house in Ambala City.
The case
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Barbeque Nation lands in soup
Mohali, October 5 Husan Lal, commissioner, Food Safety, Punjab, said one of the samples had been declared unfit for human consumption, while the second sample was of substandard quality. “The report of other samples is yet to be received,” he said. The food samples were collected from Barbeque Nation on September 26 when 22 persons, including women and children, were taken ill after having food. “Action will be taken against the restaurant under the Food Security and Safety Act, 2006,” said district health officer Dr Gursharan Singh. He added that the owner of the restaurant could face three-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 lakh. The Mohali police has already registered a case against the owner and staff of the restaurant at the Phase I police station.
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Youth arrested for stealing NRI’s bag
Mohali, October 5 Punjab Police DIG LK Yadav said that the youth was nabbed this morning from Amritsar. “We tracked his
location through his mobile phone,” said the DIG. The police swung into action following a report in these columns ‘Law protector turns mediator’. Sohal alleged that instead of apprehending the accused, the police was playing a mediator's role. A UT policeman said the accused was demanding Rs 50,000 for returning the bag, alleged Sohal. “The DIG said a case had been registered at the Zirakpur police station and the accused had been arrested”, said Sohal. The UT police has also ordered an inquiry into the case. DSP (South) Surjit Malik said he had directed the SHO of the Sector 31 police station to probe the matter and submit a report.
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Le
Corbusier day
Manish Sharma, a visitor, in his comment last month says he has really satisfying experience visiting this centre, but it should be well promoted. This centre, established in 2008, once housed the office of master architect Le Corbusier, and it was from here that the planning of Chandigarh was mooted and further conceptualised into a full-fledged city. The centre has over 200 photographs and paintings showing the growth of the city. Besides, it has valuable furniture made by Le Corbusier, which has market worth in lakhs. But despite having such precious treasures, the centre still lacks a character of its own. The recently appointed director of the centre, Mukesh Singh, asserts that the centre needs more publicity to attract the city residents as well as visitors from outside towards this heritage building-turned- centre. “We are trying to get in touch with the UT Education Department and private schools to ensure a regular visit of students. Besides, some of the weekly activities are also under consideration,” he informs. But its lack of popularity is not the only concern. This centre needs a conservation lab, pest control system as well as suitable lighting system. The one of the main aims of this centre is to interpret and research the works and legacy of Le Corbusier. But so far, the centre does not have a full-fledged library to study in depth Le Corbusier’s work as well as the architecture of the city. An official at the centre says all these facilities are must if it has to sustain for longer period. For instance, there is no system in place to control humidity here. The current lighting system is too strong for photographs. “In centre-cum-museums worldwide, diffused lighting system is used so that it does not harm the quality of photographs in the long run. Similar arrangements are required here,” he adds.
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Traders deck up facade in Sec 17
Chandigarh, October 5 The shopkeepers had also been issued notices to remove glazing in the corridors of upper floors as it disturbed the uniformity of the front elevation. The traders had also been asked to remove advertisement panels other than those prescribed under the architecture control sheet. Those violating the guidelines attract the provisions of the Punjab Capital (Development and Regulations) Buildings Rules, 1952. — TNS
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Haphazard growth peeves city’s first chief architect
Chandigarh, October 5 He said at the time of its inception in the early 1950s, people and architects had never thought that the Industrial area, which was only for industries, would be converted into the commercial area. But officials converted the industries into big malls and shopping houses, which resulted in ending the Industrial area of the city. Now as malls and hotels had come up in the Industrial area, city’s Sector 17 plaza had lost its sheen. People are now not coming to Sector 17, he said. On the present condition of the city, Sharma said it needed an immediate attention for which the city residents and the authorities were equally responsible. He also wants that no construction should be allowed 5 km from the Capitol Complex and, thereafter, low rise buildings should be allowed. On UT officials, he said after every three year the entire administration changed as officials come here on deputation period for three years. So, there is no continuity on projects and plans, and ultimately if affects the development of the City Beautiful. But, he also advised that along with development, the officials should take care of city’s heritage as well, he said. Le Corbusier: Pioneer of modern architecture
Charles-Édouard-Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887-August 27, 1965), was an architect, a designer and a writer, famous for being one of the pioneers of what is now called the modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930. His career spanned five decades with his buildings constructed throughout Europe, India and America. In 1950s, he started his work of the construction of the UT, Chandigarh, the new capital of Punjab and Haryana, and the first planned city in India. He designed a general layout of the city, dividing it into sectors. It was on August 27, 1965, that Le Corbusier went for a swim in the Mediterranean Sea at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, despite his doctor’s orders. He was pronounced dead at 11 AM. It was assumed that he might have suffered a heart attack.
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UNESCO heritage status still a dream for UT admn
Chandigarh, October 5 While in 2006, the administration had prepared a dossier but did not succeed. Thereafter, due to the lackluster approach of UT officials, the Chandigarh Administration had always failed to send a fresh dossier, which was to be forwarded to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the nodal agency for sending nominations to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for the heritage status. VK Singh, Finance Secretary, UT, said though they had failed to take up the issue in the past, this time they would definitely sent a fresh dossier. To prepare the dossier, they were in touch with the officials of the Union Government and the Archaeological Survey of India, he said. Sources revealed that recently a team from the ASI had met with the officials of the UT Administration and had also visited various architectural masterpieces in the Capitol Complex, designed by French architect Le Corbusier. Chandigarh's case is believed to be fit for inclusion in the category of the modern heritage. Planned by French architect Le Corbusier, the city has several buildings designed by him and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret. Advocate Ajay Jagga, who had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said application for the heritage tag was pending with the UNESCO since 2006. There were some objections in 2006, but after that the UT officials never took up the issue, he said. Once the administration gets the tag of UNESCO heritage city, the technical and financial aid would come from UNESCO, which would ultimately help the administration in preserving heritage items. It would also help in tourism, Jagga said.
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Ramlilas move beyond stage
Chandigarh, October 5 The audience enjoyed Ravana and Lord Shiva’s Samvad at the lake. Suresh Bakshi, director of the Ramlila, said the idea behind presenting the scene at the Sukhna Lake was to take Ramlila among the maximum people so that they could be made aware of their roots and culture. “We also further planned one or two scenes at other places”, he said. The Sukhna Lake will also provide the backdrop for the Sector 7 Ramlila Committee to stage Ramlila’s popular “kevat scene” on October 8 at 5 pm. In the Ramayana, a ‘kewat’ (boatman) helps Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman to cross the Ganga after they were sent for 14-year exile. The president of the Sector 7 Ramlila Society said elaborate arrangements had been made to enact this scene on October 8. Artistes will come here and call the “kevat”, who will take them inside the lake and bring them back. There would be bhajans in the backdrop also, he said. He said the idea was to make the Ramlila more vibrant and realistic. It also gets us a chance to reach out to young audience who otherwise don’t come to watch Ramlila performances. “We are living in hi-tech world. We also need some changes in our traditional art forms to engage new audience,” he said.
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Mohali, October 5
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Thousands throng Mansa Devi
Panchkula, October 5 Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, along with his wife Asha Hooda, inaugurated the nine-day fest. Devotees from the tricity and neighbouring towns and villages visited the temple to pay obeisance at the shrine. “I have come all the way from Dera Bassi and have been waiting in the queue for five hours,” said Shraddha Sharma, a devotee. Shraddha said, “It was her faith in the Goddess that urged her to be there every Navratras.” Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) SP Arora said queues of devotees kept increasing every hour. “This time, thousands of devotees have visited the shrine. We have made our best efforts to give them the best possible facilities,” said Arora. Till 6 pm, 60,000 devotees had paid obeisance at the shrine besides donating cash and valuable items. In all, Rs 9,83,806 besides three gold items and 44 silver items were received. Foreign currency—two American dollars, three Australian dollars, five British pounds and 15 euros—were also donated. Pavers installed at various stretches proved beneficial for the devotees. “It was difficult to move on the heated-up roads as pebbles used to pierce our feet. The pavers, however, made it easier for us to visit the shrine,” said Nandini Vashisht, a devotee. In the morning, however, differently abled and elderly devotees had a tough time visiting the shrine in the absence of golf carts that were meant to ferry them. The golf carts could be brought into service only by the afternoon.
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Cops show scant regard to duty, shrine
Panchkula, October 5 The three policemen were seen whiling away the time, just outside the main darbar in the morning, while Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was addressing the media at the bhawan near Just a few minutes before this, Hooda had paid obeisance at the shrine. The picture taken by the Chandigarh Tribune lensman shows one of the policemen sitting on a railing with his feet supported by a pillar facing the darbar, When Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Poornima Singh was shown this picture, the officer said, “I will definitely look into the matter.” The convention of walking barefoot on the temple premises was also not respected by the commandos who accompanied the CM. They were seen wearing shoes at the shrine. During the previous Navratras, too, a police official was seen smoking a beedi on the temple premises.
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Bansal shoots off letter to UT
Chandigarh, October 5 Despite the directions issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asking the UT Administration to hold regular meetings with Bansal to discuss important issues pertaining to the city, not a single meeting has taken place in the past two months. The first and the last meeting the UT Adviser, KK Sharma, and other officials held with the MP was on July 29. Confirming the development, Bansal said minutes of the previous meeting were not delivered to him till date. The letter also asked the UT officials to call another meeting soon for the development of the City Beautiful, which was his prime concern, the MP added. Bansal’s first meeting with the senior UT officials had continued for over two hours, in which they had discussed a number of problems, including the provision of basic amenities to the settlers who have raised structures beyond the lal dora of villages, a general housing scheme for the needy persons who have been living in the city for the past 15 years, amendment to the building bylaws, transfer of dwelling units to the GPA holders of the Chandigarh Housing Board and the UT Estate Office, policy for the allotment of land for religious purposes, regularisation of services of the daily wage employees working with the Administration or theMunicipal Corporation as a one-time measure and setting up of more fair price shops in the city. Despite repeated attempts, the UT Adviser could not be contacted for comments.
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Generator sets sealed at city post offices
Chandigarh, October 5 The officials said despite notices issued to the post offices, the postal staff failed to seek the required permissions. The action will help in controlling the air and noise pollution. —
TNS
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GMSH gets new Director Health Service
Chandigarh, October 5 Dr Bhalla said he was aware of the staff shortage in various departments. To address the problem, he needed a clearer picture, he said. The new official said he had asked all the departments to submit the information by the next week. He said he aimed at giving the best medical facilities to patents using the limited resources available to him. Dr Bhalla is a 1979-cadre Punjab Civil Medical Services officer, who was promoted as the Deputy Director in 2011. He moved to the UT administration on deputation and was working as a senior medical officer and the head of psychiatry department at the Sector 16 hospital. He started the first drug de-addiction and treatment centre of the UT Administration at the hospital in 2009.
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Train to Shirdi chugs off today
Chandigarh, October 5 Over 65 per cent of the tickets have been sold for the maiden journey. The train comprises 11 coaches: one two-tier AC, one three-tier AC, three sleepers and six unreserved coaches. It will depart from Kalka at 7 pm, every Thursday and Sunday. It will leave the Chandigarh station at 7.40 pm, reaching Sai Nagar Shirdi at 10:15 pm the next day. The train will have halts at Chandigarh, Ambala Cantt, Panipat, New Delhi, H Nizamudin, Mathura, Agra Cantt, Gwalior, Bhopal, Bhusawal and Manmad. On its return journey, the train (number 22455) will depart every Tuesday and Saturday at 10.00 am and reach the city the next day at 11:45 am. —
TNS
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Classical singer enthrals audience
Chandigarh, October 5 Her performance was followed by screening of two Iranian movies “Here without Me” by Bahram Tavakoli and “Child & Angel” by Director M Nqash. “Here without Me”, which got the best film award in London Iranian Film Festival in 2012 and Montreal Film Festival, recounts the story of a single mother working hard to find match for her shy and lame daughter, while her son dreamed mostly of cinema and running away from family obligation. The festival will conclude on October 6 with two movies “So Far So Close” by Reza Mirkarimi and “As Simple As That” by director Seyyed Reza. Film fest concludes
The three-day film festival, “Cinemanthan”, concluded today at Panjab University (PU) with a healthy panel discussion in the evening on relevance of screenings of films at a platform like university. In total, 12 films were screened on the last day of the festival. Two documentaries, three animation films, one short film, five fiction films and one feature film were shown.
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Art exhibition
As many as 100 students and volunteers from Firstep-Montessori School, Panchkula, and Nanhi Jaan, an NGO, gathered at Elante Mall, Chandigarh, to celebrate ‘Joy of Giving’ week wherein they organised an Art Exhibition and created ‘Wish Tree’ to raise funds to sponsor the medical needs of the less fortunate children here on Saturday. Seminar
World Largest Ship Managers V Ships, managing around 1,100 ships across all the oceans, conducted an in-house two-day seminar in Chandigarh on many global topics and issues of relevance, including environmental compliance, health & hygiene, communications and recruitment challenges. Senior officials of V Ships Asia and India flew in from Singapore and Mumbai to join the seminar hosted by its Chandigarh office.
UIHM-Gharuan wins top award
University Institute of Hotel Management (UIHM), Gharuan, in a glittering ceremony held at Hotel Claridges, New Delhi, won the Best Hotel Management Institute of the Year-2013 Award. Organised by the Indian Restaurant Congress, the third edition of the Annual Awards saw market leaders and innovators from the restaurant Industry of India being honored and acknowledged for their contribution and skills. The third Annual Awards were part of two-day National Conference organised by the Indian Restaurant Congress with an aim to bring world-acclaimed restaurant professionals and stakeholder of the hotel industry on a common platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities pertaining to restaurant business, said Vinay Vinayak, principal, UIHM,
Gharuan.
Protest
The Punjab Government Pensioners’ Association held a massive protest demonstration near the Deputy Commissioner Office at Phase I in Mohali to highlight their demands and in protest against the Property Tax here on Saturday. A large number of pensioners attended the protest march despite the odds of old age and other compulsions of bodily infirmities and raised fierce slogans against the government. Mohan Singh, general secretary of the association, narrated in detail the sequence of events until now and explained as to how on the one hand government is raising hue and cry. —
TNS
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300 take part in science quiz
Chandigarh, October 5 The students were given question paper consisting of 75 multiple-choice questions based on Term-I syllabus of Class X science subject. There were 25 questions each from biology, physics and chemistry. The level of difficult was same in all the disciplines. Dr Arvind’s biology classes at Sector 37 provided the technical support. All the participants were given certificates of participation and a small kit before the exam that went on for an hour-and-a-half. Over 50 schools from the tricity sent their Class X students for the competition. The result of the event will be announced within 10 days. First winner will get Rs 5,000 cash award. The first and second runners-up will be awarded with Rs 3,000 and 2,000, respectively. Besides, there will be 10 consolation price of Rs 1,000 each. The winner of the contest will duly be informed. There was no entry fee for participations. Teachers who came along with the students appreciated the effort of the TIE in conducting this academic activity and said it was well managed and gave a sense of competitiveness among the students.
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Shabad gayan contest
A shabad gayan contest was organised by Guru Nanak Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Sector 30, at the Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Sector 19, here. Harjit Singh Sabharwal, convenor of the Guru Granth Sewa Society, Sector 35, was the chief guest on the occasion. In the event, which saw participation by over 20 schools, Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, AKSIPS, Sector 42, IS Dev Samaj School, Sector 21, stood first, second and third, respectively. Business quiz
Vivek High School, Sector 38, hosted its first inter-school business quiz in the school auditorium here on Friday. As many as 18 teams from north India participated in the enthralling and interesting quiz among them were Mayo Girls and Mayo Boys from Ajmer, Welham boys, Dehradun, Vidya Devi Jindal School, Hisar, and RKKGPS, Jodhpur. The quiz was won by Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, first runners-up SD School, Chandigarh, and Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, was the second runners-up. Mushtaq Ahmed, head of faculty, University of Fraser Valley was the quiz master. Grandparents’ Day Bachpan, a play school, Mohali, celebrated Grandparents Day with a lot of enthusiasm. A tikka ceremony was performed to welcome the grandparents. The school and classrooms were beautifully decorated. Grandparents enjoyed watching their grandchildren perform to a number of rhymes and songs and participated in games. Vocal competition
An Inter-School Semi-Classical Vocal Competition was organised at New Public School, Sector 18,
Chandigarh. Twenty schools from the tricity participated in the competition. Simran Chaudhary from Bhavan
Vidyalya, Panchkula, bagged the first prize. The second prize went to Barbi from DAV Model School, Sector 15,
Chandigarh, and Simran Sharma from AKSIP School won the third prize. World Space Week
Students of Kids ‘R’ Kids School, Sector 42, Chandigarh, participated in a painting competition here on Saturday to mark World Space Week. Vivid thoughts related to the themes-planet mars and mars exploration-were expressed with bright hues on sheets of paper through the skilful use of colour and strokes. Each painting exhibited an individual understanding of space exploration and became a spectacular piece in itself. Indeed it was a depiction of how little minds see the panorama in the sky. —
TNS 18 schools take part in painting competition Shemrock Senior Secondary School, Sector 69, organised an inter-school painting competition in which as many as 18 schools from the tricity participated, here today. The students were divided into three categories based on their classes and were given topics. Category A (Classes III, IV and V) were given topic on ‘A Hill Station, A Rainy Day and Save Trees’; Category B (Classes VI, VII and VIII) ‘Protect Environment, Chandigarh Traffic and Save Water’; Category C (Classes IX and X) ‘Corruption, Rising Prices, Donate Eyes and Save Girl Child’.
— OC
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Apratim-11 kicks off at CCET
Chandigarh, October 5 Apart from fun events such as rangoli making, doughnut eating etc. the day was highlighted by items such as RJ hunt, which gave students an opportunity to become “Ek Din Ka RJ”. Various teams from different colleges of Punjab and Delhi showed their mettle at acting in a “Nukkad Naatak” competition based on various themes like crime against women, child abuse, abuse of mental patients etc. The team “Draamebaaz” of the CCET bagged the first position in the fest. The on stage chemistry glowed up with solo and duet dance competitions. A major head-turner was folk dance and group dance competition, music to ears was the fusion band competition and antakshri. A fashion show, Trepasso, was also held in the evening.
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Chandigarh, October 5
Candidates who lost the Panchkula Municipal Corporation elections, including Ravinder Rawal and BB Bansal, were present to welcome Hooda. Others were also seen ‘marking their attendance’ before the CM.
